Free Republic

SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea's prime minister offered to resign Sunday over the government's handling of a deadly ferry sinking, blaming "deep-rooted evils" and irregularities in a society for a tragedy that has left more than 300 people dead or missing and led to widespread shame, fury and finger-pointing.

Jindo, South Korea (CNN) -- There were 46 lifeboats on the sunken South Korean ferry -- but only one was deployed, CNN affiliate YTN reported Thursday. CNN has not been able to independently confirm the report. If true, the report will add to the anger and desperation of families still waiting for word on the fate of 287 missing passengers. Video acquired by another affiliate JTBC showed at least 12 of the white survival capsules still attached to the ferry even as it was keeled over in the water. The survival capsules hold lifeboats.... At one point or another, the...

Shortly before 9 a.m. Wednesday, passenger Kim Sung-Mook was eating breakfast in the ship's main hall when he felt a tilt, he told CNN affiliate YTN. At first, "we thought it was because of the tide," he said. The waves had been smooth until the ship suddenly leaned, witnesses said. The ship tilted further, and an announcement blared through loudspeakers warning passengers that moving would be dangerous. Then, he heard a loud bang from inside the ship. Kim said he thought a crane on board had toppled over. When seawater started gushing into the ferry, passengers began to scramble.

Military dive teams worked the dark, cold waters of the Yellow Sea on Wednesday night in a desperate effort to find nearly 300 people who remained missing after the ferry they were taking to a South Korean island resort sank with breathtaking speed. -excerpt- The bulk of those aboard were students and teachers from Seoul's Ansan Danwon High School heading to a four-day trip to Jeju, a resort island considered the Hawaii of Korea. More than 300 students and more than a dozen teachers from the school were on board, according to officials.

SEOUL—South Korea said almost 300 people remain missing after a passenger ferry sank early Wednesday near the country's southwest coast. Rescue services raced to find survivors from the ship, which quickly rolled over and may have trapped passengers inside. Two bodies have been recovered from the site. Officials said the cause of the disaster hadn't been determined.

It has just been reported that a Korean cruise ship with 450 aboard has sunk. Only 190 are reported to have been saved- many high schoolers aboard.

A senior U.S. official arrived Tuesday in Yangon on an unannounced trip to continue Washington's new policy of engaging the military government, in the first visit since the country's recent elections. The trip by Joseph Y. Yun, deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific, comes after widely criticized Nov. 7 elections that were overwhelmingly won by a military-backed party. Yun's visit also will allow the U.S. to review its humanitarian assistance to Myanmar, embassy spokeswoman Adrienne Nutzman said. Yun was scheduled to stay through Friday for a visit that will include talks with senior government officials, ethnic...

VIENNA—The Obama administration told the United Nations nuclear watchdog that North Korea likely has built more than one uranium-enrichment facility, significantly raising the proliferation threat posed by the secretive communist state. U.S. and European officials are pressing the International Atomic Energy Agency to better scrutinize Pyongyang's potential role in sharing its nuclear technologies with third countries. But the U.N. agency's ability to monitor Pyongyang is limited: North Korea kicked out the IAEA's inspectors in 2009. The IAEA already is investigating evidence that North Korea transferred a nearly operational nuclear reactor to Syria, which Israeli jets subsequently destroyed in 2007. U.S....

2010/12/03 07:00 KST "N. Korea deploys more multiple-launch rockets: source SEOUL, Dec. 3 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has added more multiple-launch rockets capable of hitting the South Korean capital, a military source said Friday, amid heightened tensions over the North's fatal artillery attack on a South Korean island. The North's rockets and long-range artillery, capable of raining down shells on Seoul, which lies about 50 kilometers from the heavily armed border, are the biggest defense concern for South Korea. "

A large-scale pro-U.S. rally opposing the withdrawal of U.S. troops stationed here was held last Saturday in front of City Hall, downtown Seoul. Some 100,000 members from the 114 conservative civic bodies, such as the Korean War Abductees Family Union and the National Council for Freedom and Democracy, gathered to protest against the North Korean nuclear plans and against Kim Jong-il on the occasion of the 84th anniversary of March 1 Independence Day. They denounced the North Korean leader Kim for nuclear ambitions that, they said, have ratcheted up tension on the peninsula. Amongst the demonstrators were former prime minister...